Severe Criticism from 68 Student Organizations in Iran Against Sentences Issued Against Students

68 student organizations in Iran have strongly criticized the sentences issued against students, stating they will not allow 'authoritarianists' to target freedom once again. Simultaneously, the Minister of Science has stated that among the students arrested during the protests in December, 5 students are still imprisoned. In the statement released by the 68 student organizations on Tuesday, August 1, they referred to the current situation in the country, which has caused 'various public discontent,' and noted that 'the justifying rhetoric of those in power has placed the country on a dangerous path.' The statement also mentioned that last month, 63 student organizations expressed their strong objection to the security measures and heavy judicial sentences against students, stating: 'However, the authoritarianists have shown that not only has the voice of the students not been heard,' but recently a sentence has also been issued against Fereshteh Toosi, one of the student activists. Fereshteh Toosi, a student activist from Allameh Tabatabai University in Tehran, was sentenced in a preliminary court to 18 months of imprisonment for 'propaganda against the regime' and two years of deprivation from participating in political parties and organizations, social networks, media, and press, as well as being banned from leaving the country. According to Human Rights Watch, as of last week, at least 8 students from Tehran and Tabriz universities have been sentenced to prison terms of up to eight years, and some other students have also been deprived of any political and media activities and even participation in social networks for two years. According to this report, Sina Darvish Imran and Ali Mozaffari were each sentenced to eight years, Leila Hassan Zadeh to six years, Sina Rabiei to one year, Mohsen Haqshenas to two years, Roya Saghiri to 23 months, and Ali Kamrani and Ali Ghadiri each to six months in prison. On the other hand, Mansour Gholami, the Minister of Science, Research, and Technology, told the newspaper 'Etemad' that by July 25, prison sentences 'ranging from a few months to several years' had been issued for 12% of the students arrested during the December protests. According to Mr. Gholami, among the students arrested during the protests last December, five students are still in prison. However, the Minister of Science stated that his ministry is negotiating with the judiciary to revoke the issued sentences. Last week, 125 professors from various universities in Iran wrote a letter to Hassan Rouhani, protesting the arrests and sentences issued for students in recent months and calling for his 'support' for the students. In recent weeks, protests have also been held against these sentences. According to Parvaneh Salahshouri, a member of parliament, about 150 students were arrested during the nationwide protests last December, and so far sentences have been issued for 17 of them. Additionally, according to Mahmoud Sadeghi, another member of parliament, the sentences for the students were issued based on reports and interrogations by the Ministry of Intelligence of Rouhani's government. Hassan Rouhani, during the 2013 election campaign, promised to reinstate students who were deprived of education and to eliminate the 'security atmosphere' in universities. Nevertheless, various student groups have repeatedly protested against the 'security nature' of university environments and the 'starred' status of students in recent years.